- Unmasked Feelings -
Pairing: Roxas x Kairi
A/N: If you would like to submit a request for a Hereto Roxas lemon, please visit our profile and send us a PM. :) Meanwhile, here's our Strawberry Lemonade for all to enjoy. Order up!
Why did life have to be so complicated, especially when it comes to relationships?
Roxas cursed the notion of young love, coming of age, and teenage drama, mostly because he was dealing with the exact same problems, and he'd do anything to rid these troublesome emotions any day. And he can blame it all on Kairi, the red haired temptress who he couldn't have.
Roxas was twenty two years old, spiky haired, going to college, and dealing with depression. Even when he was one of the few selected students awarded to go on a free vacation for their school's travel services, he still couldn't get away from his problems considering she came along with him, Kairi was one of the lucky students to join him on his trip.
Why did she have to come along too, it was like the heaven's enjoyed making his life miserable? Kairi was his secret crush, ever since their first moments in middle school when they met in algebra class. But Roxas guessed that it was his fault for not taking the chance to have her for himself, instead his best friend did what he couldn't and asked Kairi on a date.
Sora was lucky, Roxas was conflicted with liking and hating the spiky haired brunette for taking his crush away from him, but he tried to be a good friend by keeping his personal feelings aside. If only Roxas knew what was in store for him during this vacation.
The spiky haired blonde was stuck with a couple people during this trip, Hayner, Pence, Olette, Terra, Aqua, and Kairi were accompanying him on a trip to an exotic resort where they'll be studying photography.
Roxas knew what Terra and Aqua will being studying on this trip, and it sounded a lot better than taking pictures. He envied them, Terra was lucky to have a beautiful girl like Aqua in his arms.
Hayner and Olette were together too, ironically, Roxas couldn't stand to hear them talk all romantically when all four of them hanged out. Don't get Roxas wrong, he was happy for them, but it only reminded him how empty his life was when the only girl he'd ever loved was kissing another man.
Guess he'll have to subside his dread with Pence, his single friend who seemed perfectly fine being himself. He along with Hayner and Olette knew about the blonde's relationship problems, but Roxas asked if it couldn't hurt for them to be a little less optimistic.
But the more he thought about it, the sooner he realized that they were just trying to look after him.
"Hey Roxas," Pence's voice interrupted, snapping the blonde out of his mental monologue. "You okay, man?"
It was a bright and sunny afternoon, and Roxas was busy moping around in a local beach bar, drinking a hurricane cocktail to numb his senses. Of course, Pence was doing his obligation as a best friend by keeping Roxas some company, then again he never needed an excuse to enjoy the pleasures of eating and drinking.
The spiky haired blonde took a casual glance at his cheerful friend, who was busy snacking on chips while he watched the local beach folk go about their lives.
"Sorry, did you say something?" Roxas sighed, taking a sip of his alcoholic beverage.
"I was just giving you the heads up that your future bride is coming this way," Pence repeated.
Roxas almost choked on his drink, his sluggish nerves jolting back to life as he looked back to see the source of all his misery coming his way.
Kairi, his middle school friend and long time crush, smiling carelessly as she walked towards him in her cherry blossom bikini. Her hair was the deepest of red, reaching to her shoulders and back. Her skin lightly tanned from the tropical sun, looking as smooth as baby oil. And her eyes represented the blue ocean, sinking Roxas into unless pool of comfort until their eyes break away.
And unfortunately they did, Kairi was completely oblivious to how he felt and usually resulted in complete miscommunication.
"Hey Pence, Roxas," Kairi introduced, displaying her irresistible smile. "Mind if I join you boys?"
"No problem," Pence immediately responded, knowing that he's slowly killing Roxas inside.
The beautiful red haired girl happily sat between the two boys and ordered a drink, obviously being the second of the three enjoying her vacation. She shifted her attention at Roxas, much to his hidden delight.
"How do you like your vacation, Roxas?" Kairi asked, unknowing that she was mentally stressing the blonde out.
And this was always the part where Roxas had to lie; he quickly put on his false mask and smirked at her kindly. "Relatively decent, just enjoying the break from life."
His secret crush giggled from his response, either from how cool he was, or most likely because of how cheesy he sounded. She had a light blush on her cheeks as she stared at him, looking as pure as an angel.
"I'm glad to see you're having fun," she admitted.
The more Roxas looked at her, the more his deepest desires clouded his judgment and started inappropriately undressing her with his eyes. He needed to stop thinking this way; she was his best friend's girlfriend.
While she was busy talking to Pence, he quickly took another sinful glance at her marvelous figure. His sense of smell immediately caught her perfume, the scent of strawberry filling his lungs which almost made him collapse. And her hair was perfectly framed and shimmered a glow from the reflection of the sunlight, what Roxas wouldn't give to course his hands through her red mane.
"Roxas, are you spacing out again?" Pence teased, making a habit of interrupting the spiky blonde's fantasies.
"You should know that I've made a habit out of that," Roxas muttered, sipping his drink again.
Kairi released another adorable giggle before she responded. "You know, even though you and Sora look alike, you sure are polar opposites."
Why did she have to mention him, things were going so well too? Roxas made sure to keep his public mask on while Kairi and Pence continued conversing, he spent most of his time paying attention while they did all the talking. He rather liked hearing Kairi talk, it was one of few things that managed to make Roxas happy inside.
The sun was beginning to set beautifully over the ocean view, and the collage gang decided to have a campfire on the beach, with this perfect weather it didn't feel cold at all during nightfall. Terra was busy being a human blanket for Aqua, holding the blue haired woman in his arms while they sat quietly near the fire. Hayner and Olette sat side by side while they conversed with everyone else, and Roxas sat silently beside Pence. Kairi was late for some reason.
"So how come we haven't seen you two for awhile?" Olette questioned mischievously, directing the conversation to the older couple.
Aqua smiled warmly as she spoke. "Me and Terra were taking advantage of our vacation and decided to spend a whole day together."
They didn't even leave their room, Roxas muttered mentally. If only he could be that lucky, but his stubbornness prevented him from thinking of spending any romantic nights with anyone other than Kairi, and just as he tried to rid her of his thoughts.
"Roxas, are you ever going to tell Kairi how you feel or are you just gonna be left in the dust?" Hayner questioned, startling Terra and Aqua with this information.
"What?" Aqua gasped. "Roxas, is he serious?"
This was the last thing the spiky blonde needed, to explain his relationship problems with his friends during his vacation. Roxas groaned is response, looking away from the fire and his friends while his narrowed blue eyes glimmered a slit of orange from the campfire's glare.
"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.
His friends looked generally concerned for the sorrowful blonde, especially Hayner and Olette. Pence kept his calm demeanor while he snacked on some chips, while Terra and Aqua watched in great interest.
"Roxas, you will never be happy until you admit your feelings and move on," Olette spoke innocently.
"Shouldn't you guys be concerned more for Sora?" The annoyed blonde grunted.
"He's our friend too, but we're looking after you right now," Hayner added.
Roxas had enough of this; he couldn't handle all of this drama. All he wanted was to enjoy his brief vacation, but it seems like the world couldn't give him that either. He stood up abruptly and was beginning to violently storm out, but something inside of him ceased that action and he was left awkwardly standing in front of the campfire.
He wiped his hand over his face in an attempt to brush off his grief, but it only ended up changing his irritable expression into turmoil. He hated showing his vulnerable side to people; he'd rather hide it behind a stoic mask so that he can keep his problems to himself.
"Roxas?" Olette spoke, breaking the silence.
"What does it matter?" Roxas barked, placing a hand over his mouth to hide his clenched teeth. "Kairi is Sora's girlfriend, it's not like I have any chance with her!"
He was expecting a quick retort or a weak comforting reply, but his friends were silent, it was only a second later that Roxas noticed that they were looking passed him. His eyes widened and it took all of his courage to look behind him, his heart increasing in pulse as he recognized the red hair of his desired crush.
Kairi stood a few feet away, holding two drinks in her hands with a stunned look in her eyes. Her deep blue eyes were staring at Roxas, obviously hearing his unattended confession. She must've gotten those two drinks for her and Roxas, since he spent most of these few days drinking cocktails.
"Roxas... you..." she whispered.
The timid blonde didn't even want to hear it, he rushed by the girl he loved and headed back to the hotel, ignoring Kairi's pleas to wait, and began sprinting aggressively when he was out of their sight.
It was at this moment that Roxas realized that this lucky vacation trip was nothing more than a curse.
Sulking seemed to be the career of choice for Roxas; he's been doing it for years and tonight was overtime. He stared off into the pale ceiling as he moped on his bed, his thoughts drifting off into a time where things were better, where his future ambitions distracted him from his single life, and when Kairi didn't know his secret.
Roxas was thankful that each of the students got their own room unless asked otherwise, Terra and Aqua being a good example. He thought about staying in his hotel room for the rest of his vacation, he had enough food stocked for a couple of days so it was possible.
During his deep thought process, he couldn't sworn he heard knocking at his front door, but he quickly dismissed it. But after the third knock, he knew who awaited him outside the door, and he wished it was anybody else but her.
"Roxas, I know you're in there," Kairi's muffled voice spoke beyond the door. "We need to talk, okay?"
He would like to reschedule that talk as long as possible but Roxas was already down the rabbit hole, he couldn't escape his inevitable oblivion. After mustering up as much courage he had left, the depressed blonde stood from his bed and walked sluggishly towards the door. His hand hovered over the doorknob, his fingers quivering in fear as he realized that he'll be hearing the rejection he's been dreading all his life.
He opened the door, Kairi standing patiently outside with a concerning expression on her elegant face. She looked generally sympathetic, especially after seeing the physical condition of the blonde's posture; his shoulders slumped over, his face displaying anguish, and his blue eyes were half lit with no life inside.
"Roxas… mind if I step in?" Kairi asked softly.
Even though she'll be breaking his crippled heart, Roxas still couldn't refuse her. After gulping the lump in his throat, he muttered. "Yeah… sure."
Kairi stepped in and walked slowly towards the living room couch, expecting to have their awkward talk side by side. She was still wearing her bikini, which added to the awkwardness already in his opinion. Roxas didn't want things to stretch out farther than it needed to be, his stubbornness kicking in as he grasped Kairi's wrist to stop her from going into the living room.
The red haired girl turned and looked at him compassionately, looking into his dulled eyes with her bluish ones.
"Kairi," he muttered. "Just… tell me already-"
Before he could finish, the lights quickly went out, stopping his heart as he was left in the dark with his crush. He heard the running machinery in the walls and ceiling stop, meaning that the power was out for some unknown reason. Roxas heard Kairi gasp beside him, and he knew he had to reassure her that things were alright. He immediately found the doorknob and tried to open the door to the hallway, but found that the door was jammed.
"The door won't open!" he spoke up.
"What?" Kairi gasped.
After trying to heave the door open to find no progress, he turned towards Kairi in the dark. "Kairi, do you have your phone with you?"
The frightful girl looked perplexed for a moment, only to respond with no hope in her voice. "I left it in my bedroom."
Roxas cursed himself for leaving his own phone back home, deciding at the time that he'd rather be completely cut off from his former life for awhile. But now he was stuck in a hotel room with the one person he was trying to get away from, and she happened to know about his dark secret.
How can things get any worse?
Warning: This is a two-shot, the next chapter will feature graphic sexual content and will change the story's rating to the appropriate M-rating. Read if you're of appropriate age, and fill free to review and tell us what you think. Thank you for reading.
Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy...